Infectious pathogenic contaminants, such as enveloped viruses, can cause human or animal diseases. The inability to effectively inactivate pathogenic viruses without adversely affecting their antigenic properties has made it difficult to make safe, effective vaccines for viral diseases. In addition, the presence of viruses can destroy the utility of valuable food and industrial products.
Heat treatments, the extraction of virus with solvents and detergents, and the treatment with high doses of gamma radiation can be effective means of inactivating viruses. However, those procedures are rigorous and nonspecific and their applicability is limited. As a result there is a need for a simple, effective method for eradicating viruses, such as the Retroviridae comprising a human immunodeficiency virus, by inactivating them.
It also would be useful to have a method of eradicating protozoa, such as Plasmodium falciparum, in whole blood and cellular blood products, such as red cells (Chojnacki et al., New Engl. J. Med. 279: 984-985, 1968 and Grant et al., Lancet II: 469-491, 1960).
The protozoan parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, causes the fatal form of human malaria and it is responsible for over one million deaths among African children annually. Although normally transmitted by the bite of a mosquito vector, malaria can also be transmitted through the transfusion of blood from asymptomatic donors.